This month’s book was Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who’s Determined to Kill Me by Jenny Gardiner.In Winging It, Jenny Gardiner writes about her life with her family and assorted pets. One of them being Graycie, an African Grey Parrot. Gardiner is humorous in her descriptions of the joys and tragedies in her hectic life. The author loves her pets and has good intentions, but…

The book doesn’t really center on Graycie, she appears sporadically. The family is too busy for the care of Graycie and due to various calamities, she is often overlooked. This is a book on how not to care for your parrot. Graycie even makes a few trips to the vet with a broken breastbone after falling off her cage before Gardiner discovers that maybe she is clipping the bird’s feathers too short. Ack.

Cooper doesn’t think Graycie was vengeful at all. She thinks the parrot’s bad behavior (much of it is normal parrot behavior – chewing and pooping) was a result of the care she received. Being bored, ignored and shut away in a basement is not an ideal life for such an intelligent bird.

At the end of the book Gardiner states, “I suppose when that day comes (when the kids are grown) we’ll finally have time to really devote to Graycie.” I certainly hope so. Gardiner mentions a parrot sanctuary, Project Perry, which is near her. She writes of seeing the grey parrots flying freely and socializing. Sounds like a great place for Graycie.

*Thanks to Susan for the recommendation. I love to read about people and their birds. There’s always something to learn from their viewpoints and experiences.